TT&H Attorney John Morgan Obtains Denial of Review Petition Based on Untimely Notice

TT&H Attorney John Morgan recently persuaded a Greater Philadelphia Area Workers’ Compensation Judge on remand to deny a previously granted Review Petition. The claim involved an accepted left ankle injury. The claimant testified that, a few weeks after the work-related left ankle injury, he tripped and fell while at home in his bathroom, injuring his low back. The claimant attributed this latter incident to his accepted left ankle injury. The employer raised an untimely notice defense, given that the original injury only involved the left ankle, and the new low back injury arose out of a separate occurrence.

Initially, the WCJ granted the Review Petition without ruling on the untimely notice issue. However, John appealed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, which remanded the case back to the WCJ for further findings on the notice issue. On remand, John persuaded the WCJ that the claimant was legally obligated to provide timely notice of his subsequent low back injury within 120 days, and failed to do so. Therefore, the WCJ denied Claimant’s petition to add a low back injury, adopting the reasoning argued in John’s brief. This decision means that the employer may now request supersedeas fund reimbursement for benefits attributable to the low back injury.

Questions about this case can be directed at John Morgan at 267-861-7580 or jmorgan@tthlaw.com.